CJ Publishers: Hotlinking to ads

Do we have to?

[Psycho1]

I'm new at being an affiliate publisher and just joined Commission Junction. Do I always have the option of placing the ad graphics on my server or is that something the specific advertiser decides? The reason I ask is because I'm a bit irritated that my website visitors have to keep downloading the same graphic with each page visit, so I wanted to put the graphic on my server. CJ won't be able to give me statistics for impressions if I do this, but I think it's a small price to pay. Thanks.

[iThink]

Psycho1

IMO CJ may or will refuse to pay you if you tinker with their code.

The whole idea behind the kind of code that they provide is that it enables merchants to change banners that are dished out on the publisher's (i.e. your) sites without any work on the part of publishers to update them every now and then. They do this despite knowing that it makes it difficult for publishers to build a decent web page around what they provide.

[Psycho1]

That's a bummer:( Do all of the major affiliate networks require hotlinking to the ads? I've also found that many people who visit my site have these ad servers blocked in their hosts.txt...including me. I don't even know what software I installed that added a ton of the ad servers to my hosts.txt.

[linkshark]

As long as the clickthroughs are tracking I wouldn't worry about it. You could use a text link code with the 1x1 tracking pixel and link to the merchant with a graphic on your server. That way you log impressions at CJ and can use whatever you want as a link graphic.

[skibum]

Lots of affiliates seem to take the click through URL and put it in AdWords ads which, of course, doesn't register an impression. It could be that there is just a lot of churn as CJ wipes out those that do this but there are some affiliates buying sponsorships on Google which is a lot of cash to risk if there is much of a chance CJ will pull the plug and not pay.

[linkshark]

Yup. You could very easily use redirect or framed page to get around that, by including the impression in the redirect or framed page.

[johannes]

Psycho1. Save it on your web server.

IMO CJ may or will refuse to pay you if you tinker with their code.

This is not true. CJ wants you to use 1x1 and other graphics for the sake of statistics. But you don't have to. I seldom use the 1x1, because I'm not interested in the impressions.

What might be a problem is that a publisher changes an image, and you show an outdated one. Perhaps an offer or campaign that is no longer valid. That could be a problem.

[iThink]

I hope moderators will not mind me including a URL from CJ's site

[cj.com...]

This is what you have to agree upon when signing for CJ account.

It says "3.1 Applicable Codes and Code Maintenance. In order for CJ to record the tracking of Visitors' Transactions resulting from clicks on Advertiser Links on Your Web sites and/or subscription emailings, two types of CJ code must be included in and maintained within the Advertiser's Links: "Impression Tracking Code" and "Transaction Tracking Code" (collectively referred to as "Tracking Code"), and all Advertiser Links and all advertisements ("Ad Content") must be in a Network Service compatible format. You, the Advertiser or the Advertiser's agent may serve standard Ad Content. If the Advertiser has any non-standard Ad Content or Link format, these must be served by the Advertiser, You or a CJ authorized provider (contact CJ client services for verification and authority)."

It clearly says that both impression tracking code and transaction tracking codes "must be included in and maintained within the Advertiser's Links".

I for one will not tinker with the code dished out by CJ. In the past I have seen some merchants refusing to pay commissions on flimsy grounds. So why offer them a point to deny you money that you have earned?

[johannes]

Ok, iThink you're partly right. But this sentence "In order for CJ to record..." does not actually say that you aren't allowed to change the links, it is very vague.

Here's what cj says under their help (Linking/advanced linking)

Commonly people want to know what the smallest portion of the code is that they can use for placement in "pay per search" search engines and so forth. The technical answer is below, but remember, if you use only this portion of the link code, you do so at your own risk:

Sample Full Tracking Code:

<a href="http://www.qksrv.net/click-xxxxxx-xxxxxxx" target="_top" >Shop Herman's World of Sports for all your Team Sports Needs</a><img src="http://www.qksrv.net/image-167333-1532321" width="1" height="1" border="0">

Sample Smaller Portion:

[qksrv.net...]

Apart from the technical question, please be aware that you also must get the advertiser's approval before modifying their links, or promoting them in any way other than banners on a page or in email.

Summary: you can remove the 1x1 on your own risk.

CJ won't mind if you change the links, but some publishers might. I've never heard of anyone losing money just because they removed the 1x1. That could have been when some publisher still was paying per click, when there was more fraud.

[linkshark]

There are a few flexible linking code tools within CJ that do not include the 1x1 px tracking graphic. Mainly the Eb@y flexible linking tool, which does not create 1x1 tracking code.
You can still track these link impressions by creating your own img call.
All the 1x1 images are simple:
http*/www.qksrv.net/image-PIDNUMBER-LINKIDNUMBER

I don't know about the CJ datafeeds, but I would guess that these do not include the 1x1's either.

[buckworks]

Links track just fine without the 1X1 image, but to be on the safe side let your merchant know what you plan to do.

<<IMO CJ may or will refuse to pay you if you tinker with their code.>>

It's not CJ itself that would object, it would be the merchant. Once in a rare while a merchant will get mad and withhold payment if you change a link somehow. I've never had problems personally (and I *always* omit the 1x1's), but I've heard of that happening a couple of times. In both cases it was the same merchant (no longer with CJ).

[linkshark]

Actually the 1x1's can kill your CTR depending on how your web pages are set up.

Say you make a Joe Merchant page with 50 links on it from that same merchant using flexible links (called URL redirects @ CJ) and include the 1x1 for each of those 50 links. Every time that page loads you are logging 50 impressions.

Say 2 out of every 100 visitors clicks on one of the 50 Joe Merchant links to be swiftly taken to Joe Merchant's site. You logged 5000 impressions for 2 clicks or 2500:1 CTR.

Just an example, but I can see reasons not to include the 1x1 on every link.

[Psycho1]

I forgot all about this until now......Putting a 1x1 to the hotlinked ad is still going to make my visitors download the whole graphic, which I want to avoid. Or did I misinterpret what you guys said?

Do you think an advertiser at CJ would consider a plea from a lowly publisher to put a 1x1 on their actual ad server so they could still track the impressions but also allow the publisher to put the graphics on their server? Is it even possible for them to do something like that? I doubt it, but it may be worth a shot.

[TheOtherOne]

No, what they are talking about with the 1x1 graphic is the one that is provided by CJ when you choose the code for a companies text link. You aren't just shrinking a big graphic or anything like that. As long as you keep that small img intact and let it load with whatever else you decide to use for the link (your own graphic or just text) then it will still record as a proper referral/transcation.

[Psycho1]

Now I get it:) So I can just look at the HTML provided for any of the advertiser's text links, and slap the 1x1 graphic link on my site to track impressions? Then I can put the actual ad graphic on my server and have it point to the same address the hotlinked ad points to? I like to clarify things so I don't screw things up:)

[johannes]

Psycho1, that is correct.